Nets Ready To Sign Lopez To Max Deal, But Not Fully Guaranteed?

Adrian Wojnarowski writes that Billy King, after signing Deron Williams to his max contract on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, will travel to Los Angeles to work on a deal with Brook Lopez.

The deal would be for four years and $58 million or five years and $75 million.

But the Nets might want protection against further injury, so there are still some discussions to be had with Lopez' agent Arn Tellem. To get a fully-guaranteed (four-year) deal, Lopez might sign an offer sheet with another team (like the Bobcats). By matching an offer sheet, the Nets would limit their ability to trade Lopez.

The door is not closed on a possible trade for Dwight Howard, but it will be once Lopez is signed. The Nets are either out of the picture or trying to pressure the Magic into making a deal right now.

Orlando has refocused its trade talks for Howard with the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, and the Nets are starting to believe that Magic general manager Rob Hennigan simply wants to do a deal elsewhere, sources said. Clearly, the Nets are pushing hard on Lopez’s deal to apply pressure to Orlando, but there’s nothing left for them to offer Orlando that they haven’t already made available to them.

• Nets near contract agreement with Brook Lopez - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo!